help! series similar to malazan book of the fallen?

I am trying to find a great new series of books along the lines of Malazan Book of the Fallen -- Genre is not as critical (meaning I like all types from sword and sorcery all the way to space opera) -- but just something that grabs you and won't let go with great characters, plot lines, battles, etc.

As an example, I also loved the Magician Series by Feist as well -- and Sword of Truth for the first 3-4 (and then it just got boring/stale).

I am also half-way through the 2 book in Old Man's War but hated how the main character from the first novel is no where to be seen as an example -- this series is good, but not the scale of the above....

So -- what do you all think? Some I have been hearing a lot about if Brent Weeks stuff as well Death Stalker series (on the space opera side)?

Would prefer something that has > 3 books, but at the end of the day I want the best read...

You might want to check out Glen Cook's The Black Company series. It was a major influence on Erikson and is similar in style, but pared down to just a couple of storylines per book rather than dozens.